Fred Vasseur Advised to Handle Charles Leclerc With ‘Empathy’ Amid Spotlight on Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 livery reveal with HAMILTON Lewis (gbr), Scuderia Ferrari SF-25, VASSEUR Frederic (fra), Team Principal & General Manager of the Scuderia Ferrari, LECLERC Charles (mco), Scuderia Ferrari, portrait, during the F1 75 Live at The O2, F1 2025 season Launch event

From the very beginning of his junior career, Charles Leclerc has been Ferrari’s prodigy. He was signed up for the project back in 2019 with the clear intention of making him the team’s next champion.

Naturally, the spotlight in Maranello has always been on the #16 driver. However, that changed when the team decided to sign seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and beyond.

With the #44 driver having officially joined Ferrari earlier this year, Leclerc has seemingly lost his prominence.

That’s exactly why former Alpine and Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has suggested that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur handles the Monegasque with care.

Urging an approach of empathy, the 60-year-old said on The Race podcast, “As a team principal you have to be cognizant of that [and] you have to be empathetic. Understand what the other driver is feeling, too, and make sure he’s not left out”.

Intra-team rivalries have a tendency to escalate within the F1 paddock. And if Ferrari wants to end their 17-year-long title drought, they would require to be firing on all cylinders. Thus, if Leclerc develops resentment towards Hamilton, it could jeopardize their title ambitions.

Despite getting off to a good start, Ferrari risks bitter rivalry in 2025

As things stand, the duo of Leclerc and Hamilton share a pretty good rapport with each other. The #16 driver sees Hamilton as a mentor and someone he can learn from, given his extensive experience of winning in this sport.

Moreover, the duo also share many interests outside of the track. The duo are equally passionate about music and fashion, and Leclerc has also echoed his sentiments about collaborating with Hamilton in these endeavors. Moreover, the two were also recently spotted playing chess together, suggesting that they have found another common passion.

That said, the real test of their relationship will only be dictated on the track. Going into the 2025 season, the SF-25 is touted to be a race-winning package given where the team left off last season.

And if the early indications are true, it could cause some rifts between the two drivers. Hamilton will be gunning for his record eighth world title while Leclerc will be looking to fulfill his ambitions of winning his maiden title with Ferrari. And if pitted against each other, in equal machinery, there could be some friction.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Charles Leclerc ferrari Fred Vasseur Lewis Hamilton

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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